Biopsy Results

 Well, there it is.  It's cancer.  

• Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of no special type, Nottingham grade 2-3.  
• Focal ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), intermediate nuclear grade, with associated focal necrosis.
• Breast biomarker studies:
• Estrogen receptor: Positive (moderate staining, >90%).
• Progesterone receptor: Positive (strong staining, >90%)
• HER2/neu: Negative (score 1+)

Finding was malignant, concordant.

The hospital sends lab results to you in the patient portal as soon as they are available. While I waited for the follow-up call I spent a lot of time googling the terminologies in the lab results. None of it sounded good.

Here is what I have learned (keep in mind I'm no doctor):

• IDC is the most common type of breast cancer, originating in the milk ducts.
• "Grade" determines aggressive potential of cancer. It's rated on scale of 1-3 with 3 being the worst.
• DCIS is a non-invasive form of early stage breast cancer known as stage 0. It is common for IDC to have an accompanying DCIS component.
• Estrogen and Progesterone receptor positive (HR+) means my cancer feeds on these hormones. Majority of the breast cancer cases are HR+. Women with this type of cancer cannot take birth control pills or get hormone replacement therapy (HRT) when they reach menopause.
• Since I am HER2 negative, I don't know much about this indicator. It seems HER2 positive cancers are more aggresive.

Next step: Surgical referral.